US Military Ranks for Officers and Enlisted

Image: – – Macho Spouse

If you spend a lot of time on Xbox 360 playing Call of Duty or Halo, you may have a decent handle on the US Military Ranks for Officers and Enlisted for one or maybe two branches of service. However, you can't rely on "gamer cred" to help you remember all of the ranks for all of the US military Service branches.

Here are some rank insignia charts for the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Learn 'em. It's good to know who your wife salutes or who has to salute your wife.

(Oh, and gamers don't look for those high ranks and insignia that you see in Call of Duty. They're not real.)

Officers

Enlisted

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It's the little things that make the biggest difference. For military families frequently moving around the country, a friendly greeting from a neighbor looking to connect goes a long way.

November is Military Families Appreciation Month, and the 2014 Armed Forces Insurance Branch Spouses of the Year (Branch SOYs) want to help everyone, everywhere participate in thanking and honoring military families.

Americans love our military, but many people don't quite know how best to express their gratitude. As National Guard Spouse of the Year Dr. Ingrid Herrera-Yee notes, “saying "thanks" to our military families is something that many want to do, but are at a loss as to how to do it –or in the case of Guard and Reserve, how to find us!”

So the Branch SOYs created #30Ways of Thanks to help. Each day in November, the Branch SOYs will release a video with an action item that people around the country can participate in virtually or locally, individually or in groups. Participants can hash tag #30Ways so that their messages, photos, or videos are spread far and wide. Hash tags #GratefulNation and #MilFamsRock can also be added as a short-hand way to say “You are amazing, military families!” Best of all, the entire #30Ways video collection will be stored on the Branch SOYs' YouTube channel so that it can be repeated in Novembers to come, or whenever someone is looking for a way to say “thank you” to military families.

As our organization continues to grow and gains more attention from new people, I've learned that there is some confustion about our name. In fact, I have been asked multiple times if our name, “Macho Spouse,” represented a sexist, homophobic point of view. My response to those questions is a simple, no. Actually, the initial response is laughter and surprise with a slight dash of sorrow. This perception is mostly my fault for not spending enough time explaining the meaning behind our name as we grow, leaving others to define “Macho Spouse” for us. I chose our name after careful thought, consideration, and research. I wanted a name that could illustrate our lifestyle while making people smile. I mean, if we can't have a laugh at some of the gender-reversed situations we find ourselves in, then we're taking life too seriously.

Macho Spouse represents a male spouse who has enough self-confidence in his masculinity to cook dinner, clean the house, wash the laundry, and take care of his children while his wife is away in combat. We don't care what your race, religion, sex, or sexual preference is, if you're a military spouse who lives with honor and commitment to your family, you're a Macho Spouse and are always welcome here.

I appreciate your time and support, please help us by joining our conversation...or buying a shirt! I hope this helps better explain who we are and what our name symbolizes. Now I must run along and kick something because I just learned my wife is deploying again.

Sincerely,

Chris Pape and the Macho Spouse Team

About Macho Spouse...

Macho Spouse is an educational video series and online resource for male military spouses.

Our mission is to help male military spouses connect with one another and assure that we are not alone in this military family lifestyle.